Down by the Lazy River

"Down by the Lazy River" is a song written by Alan and Merrill Osmond and performed by The Osmonds, it was produced by Alan Osmond and Michael Lloyd.^[1] "Down By the Lazy River" was released on January 15, 1972 and appeared on the band's 1972 album, Phase III.^[2] It was certified Gold by the RIAA on March 24, 1972. In 2021, the song was featured in the South Park episode "South ParQ Vaccination Special".

"Down by the Lazy River"
U.S. 7" single
Single by The Osmonds
from the album Phase III
B-side	"He's the Light of the World"
Released	January 15, 1972
Recorded	July 29, 1971
Length	2:37
Label	MGM
Songwriter(s)	Alan Osmond, Merrill Osmond
Producer(s)	Alan Osmond, Michael Lloyd
The Osmonds singles chronology
"Yo-Yo" (1971) "Down by the Lazy River" (1972) "Hold Her Tight" (1972)

Chart performance

Weekly charts It reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 on March 4, 1972, and spent two weeks at No. 3 on the Cash Box Top 100.[3] It also reached No. 40 on the UK Singles Chart in 1972.[4] The song reached No. 1 for two weeks in both the Netherlands[5] and Canada. Chart (1972) Peak position Canada RPM 100[6] 1 France (IFOP)[7] 21 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[8] 1 UK Singles Chart 40 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[9] 4 U.S. Cash Box Top 100 [3] 3

Year-end charts Chart (1972) Rank Canada [10] 50 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [11] 36 U.S. Cash Box [12] 30

The song was ranked No. 36 on Billboard magazine's Top Hot 100 songs of 1972.^[13] Cash Box had it at No. 30 for the year.^[12] The song, like almost all of the Osmonds' discography,^[14] was largely left out of recurrent rotation as radio stations no longer play the record; of all of the Osmonds' songs, "Down by the Lazy River" fared the worst relative to its popularity at the time.^[15]

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[16]	Gold	1,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

1. 1973 - The Barron Knights, on the album Barron Knights^[17]
2. 1974 - Society of Seven^[18]
3. 2002 - Montezuma's Revenge^[18]
4. 2002 - Wonderboy, on the compilation album Right to Chews - Bubblegum Classics Revisited^[18]
5. 2007 - Rytterne Röj, a Swedish band^[18]